Tropical Storm Cristobal is the first storm to threaten the United States this hurricane season. The storm system already formed Saturday when it churned off the Southeast seaboard. Meteorologists said that Cristobal gained strength and turned from a tropical depression to a tropical storm as it generated winds of about 45 mph.

The tropical storm will most likely dump several inches of much-needed rain in some areas of drought-stricken North Carolina, forecasters said. According to the N.C. National Hurricane Center, at 2 a.m. EDT, Cristobal’s center was about 35 miles southeast of Cape Fear, N.C., and about 150 miles southwest of Cape Hatteras. The storm was moving north-northeast parallel to the coastline with a speed of about 6 mph.

"Basically the track is running parallel to the coast. Slow strengthening is forecast for the next day or two,” said lead center forecaster Martin Nelson, The Associated Press reported.

Authorities issued a tropical storm warning which is still in effect from north of Little River Inlet to the North Carolina/Virginia border, although the center of the storm was forecast to remain off the coast during this weekend. Weather experts forecasted up to 5 inches of rain on coastal areas.

Meanwhile, Bertha moved towards Iceland despite having to pass through chilly waters. The hurricane finally weakened back into a tropical storm. Bertha may very well become the longest-lived Atlantic storms on record. It formed on July 3 in the vicinity of the Cape Verde islands (coastal Africa) starting what might be a very busy hurricane season.